Joe Proctor out of UFC 159, Conor McGregor looking to fill in

An injury has shaken up UFC 159, which takes place in just over two weeks. Joe Proctor (8-2, 1-1 UFC) has been forced out of his bout with Al Iaquinta (5-2-1, 0-1 UFC), which was scheduled for the night’s Facebook preliminary card. MMAJunkie.com reported the news of the injury on Wednesday.

A twist in the story is that Conor McGregor (13-2, 1-0 UFC), who won his UFC debut this past weekend at UFC On FUEL TV 9, is looking to fill in for Proctor against Iaquinta. It would be his second fight in three weeks, and in two different weight divisions as he competed at 145 pounds on Saturday where he scored a first-round knockout win over Marcus Brimage. He has expressed interest at competing both as a featherweight and a lightweight.

April 27th New Jersey!!! 155lbs versus a TUF finalist!!! WHO WANTS TO SEE IT?

It is a tough break for Proctor, who was looking to bounce back from a decision loss to Ramsey Nijem at UFC On FOX 5 in December. Proctor competed on season 15 of “The Ultimate Fighter’, but was unable to make it to the finals. He debuted at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale scoring a knockout win over Jeremy Larsen.

Iaquinta was the runner-up of that same season of TUF, losing to Michael Chiesa in the finals. Injuries have kept him out of action since the finals last June, and he returns looking to end his two-fight losing skid.

UFC 159 takes place on April 27 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen meet in the main event as Jones defends the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The event airs on pay-per-view with prelims airing on FX and Facebook.

About The Author

RyanFrederick

Ryan Frederick has been a diehard mixed martial arts fan since he saw UFC 1 at the age of 7. Since then he has yet to miss a show. He also has loves for football, baseball and fine whiskey. He fell in love with covering MMA after having also covered baseball and football, both professional and college, while working towards a journalism degree at Texas Christian University. His work has been seen on FOXSports.com, InsideFights.com, WrestlingObserver.com, Bleacher Report and ToughTalkMMA.com.